Interview: Jacob Cass

In this week's interview we have a great interview with Jacob Cass, the blogger behing Just Creative Design. JCD is a very famous design blog launched in November 2007 that focuses on all areas of design and creativity. Also, Jacob is a freelancer designer working in the fields of logo design, print design, web design and branding. You probably know who he is and I hope you enjoy this interview.

1. First of all, the staff of Abduzeedo would like to thank you for answering these questions. So, why did you decide to start a design blog?

It was only 9 months ago when I first realised that blogging was more than just a personal diary but once I knew, I knew it was going to work for me (after some initial research). I originally started a design blog so I could get more design work and record my progress in the design industry which works both hand in hand.

2. Did you have different experiences as a blogger? What about the people that contact you thru your blog besides clients? Any fans?

Without a doubt. Blogging has put my name out there which means I now have clients from all over the world and with that of course comes fans... Every week I receive numerous "fan-mails" if you can call it that... mainly people just thanking me for my work and the occasional "your hot / cute" email which always gives me a smile. There are also those just wanting some advice and those who want a bit of promotion, of which I give to every person that asks. I make it my job to reply to every single email.

3. We've seen that you got many cools works in your portfolio, like your logo designs, prints, web and personal pieces. How is your workflow?

I actually have a whole category on my blog dedicated to my design process. My usual process starts off with gathering information from the client, getting the initial 50% deposit and then I begin research, sketching, conceptualising and then getting feedback from the client and going from there. Every project is unique so there is no 100% set process but usually it goes in an order similar to that mentioned.

4. Do you work in a office? What is your routine like? What do you do to get some inspiration?

I work from home which has an office like atmosphere with lots of natural light. I don't have a concrete routine but I generally check my emails in the morning and afternoon, do design work during the day and blogging and social stuff at night. I have a massive folder full of design inspiration on my harddrive and if that doesn't work I always refer to my post 101+ Places To Get Design Inspiration.

5. What, for you personally, are the pros and cons of being a designer?

The biggest pro is that I love what I do so it is not really work which gives me the highest satisfaction. The cons of being a freelance designer is that you have to be disiplined, your own boss and do all of the business administration yourself.

7. What do you do in your spare time? Sports, television, movies?

I am a big fan of the pub / club scene as I love dance music and socialising but in my spare time I also love going to the beach, cafes, movies, listening to music and doing even more design. I also love traveling and so far have been to 30 countries which is a mean effort for a year 20 year old. I am planning to go to Canada next year and hopefully Japan at a later date.

8. What are your favorite 5 websites, and why?

Delicious as it can find design stock and popular resources quickly and accurately.

Google as it is the god of search engines for everything else not design related.

9. Once again , thank you very much for the interview. As a final word, do you have any tips for upcoming artists, designers and bloggers?

The most important tip I could give to upcoming artist would be to practice and read a lot and never undercharge... same goes with bloggers... read and practice, read and practice, read and practice.

Some Works

About the author of this post

Abduzeedo is a blog about design. There are all sorts of articles for those who want to look for inspiration. Also you will find very useful tutorials for the most used applications out there, with a special selection of Photoshop Tutorials and Illustrator Tutorials. Of course there are other softwares conteplated like Pixelmator, Fireworks, and web design tutorials.